Last Updated on May 25, 2026 by dancinginhighheelsft
Every May, something quietly shifts across London’s luxury hotel scene. Floral installations appear in lobbies, menus change overnight, and afternoon tea — already one of the city’s most enduring rituals — takes on a whole new dimension. Chelsea Flower Show week has a way of making the city feel dressed up in its finest, and this year I was invited to experience two very different interpretations of what a floral afternoon tea can be.
The first was the Boodles Botanical Afternoon Tea at Brown’s Hotel in Mayfair — one of my personal favourite dog-friendly hotels in London, where Charlotte is always a welcome guest. The second was the ‘Out of This World’ Afternoon Tea at The Chancery Rosewood, the newly opened hotel on Grosvenor Square, served at Jacqueline, the hotel’s tea lounge.
Both experiences were only available for a limited window during Chelsea Flower Show week, but experiencing them within the same few days made the contrast between them even more interesting. One leaned into a sense of timeless elegance, while the other felt far more contemporary — creative, immersive and genuinely unique.
The Boodles Botanical Afternoon Tea at Brown’s Hotel
There are few places in London I return to as readily as Brown’s Hotel. Tucked away in Mayfair, it has always felt like somewhere the city’s pace simply cannot reach — and that quality extends warmly to Charlotte, who is as welcome here as any guest. For afternoon tea, she settled contentedly beside me in The Drawing Room as if she had been doing it her whole life, which, in fairness, she largely has.
This year’s Chelsea Flower Show collaboration brought jewellery house Boodles into the fold, bringing an extra layer of understated refinement to the Botanical Afternoon Tea. The partnership felt genuinely considered rather than simply branded — the Boodles aesthetic, with its heritage of fine stones and careful craftsmanship, translated naturally into the quietly luxurious atmosphere of the room.
What struck me most immediately was how the experience resisted the urge to dazzle. Rather than leaning into the theatrical possibilities of a floral menu, the kitchen took a more restrained approach — edible botanicals, aromatic herbs and seasonal fruits woven subtly through each course, never overwhelming the palate or the presentation. Traditional finger sandwiches included coronation chicken on brioche, smoked salmon with horseradish cream cheese and pickled shallots, and roast beef with English mustard and watercress on soft shokupan bread. Alongside them, freshly baked scones arrived warm with homemade strawberry jam and Cornish clotted cream — exactly the kind of detail Brown’s handles with an ease that never quite looks effortless, even though it always is.
The pastries were where the botanical inspiration became most apparent, and where the kitchen’s restraint paid off most beautifully. A pistachio and rose tartlet balanced nuttiness with the lightest floral note, while the strawberry choux infused with Rare Tea chamomile felt perfectly summery without becoming overly delicate. There was also a macaron layered with exotic fruits and pineapple marigold, bringing a brighter, more tropical contrast to the selection. The piece I kept returning to visually, however, was the petit pavlova topped with apricots and tagetes petals — its colour quietly extraordinary against the white of the meringue.
Floral afternoon teas can sometimes lean a little too heavily into sweet or perfumed flavours, but this one felt far more balanced. The botanical elements were subtle and well judged throughout, giving the menu a seasonal freshness that suited both the setting and Brown’s understated style perfectly.
Charlotte, for her part, received her usual warm welcome and spent most of the afternoon looking decorative in her own right.
The ‘Out of This World’ Afternoon Tea at The Chancery Rosewood
If Brown’s represented everything I love about classic London luxury, The Chancery Rosewood’s ‘Out of This World’ Afternoon Tea felt like a very different take on the format — more of a fully immersive sensory experience than a traditional afternoon tea.
The Chancery Rosewood, which opened in September 2025 on Grosvenor Square, sets an immediate tone of contemporary luxury the moment you arrive. Served at Jacqueline, the hotel’s tea lounge, the ‘Out of This World’ afternoon tea felt entirely in keeping with the building’s modern, design-led character.
The Chancery Rosewood, which opened in September 2025 within the former U.S. Embassy on Grosvenor Square, feels strikingly contemporary from the moment you arrive, yet still manages to retain a sense of warmth and intimacy throughout. Afternoon tea is served at Jacqueline, the hotel’s elegant tea lounge, where soft golden tones, layered textures and carefully considered details create a setting that feels polished without becoming overly formal. It is a beautiful space to spend an afternoon, particularly during the quieter mid-afternoon hours when the room settles into a calmer rhythm.
Created under the direction of Executive Pastry Chef Marius Dufay, the ‘Out of This World’ menu explored floral perfume extracts and botanical flavours in a way that felt thoughtful rather than overly thematic. The experience began with a pair of amuse-bouches: an Osmanthus Roudoudou jelly and a jasmine crème fraîche blini topped with caviar, the latter being a particular highlight for me — delicate, savoury and beautifully balanced.
The savoury course continued with a selection of finger sandwiches that felt more inventive than those found in a traditional afternoon tea. Fillings included elderflower and minted garden peas with lovage and cream cheese, geranium and smoked Scottish salmon, chamomile and egg with Montgomery cheddar on Marmite bread, and a garlic flower and corn-fed chicken breast sandwich with wild garlic emulsion, which ended up being my favourite of the selection. Even the scones felt slightly reimagined, served in smaller individual portions with Devonshire clotted cream, rhubarb jam and a strawberry and tiaré gardenia jam that added a subtle floral sweetness without becoming overpowering.
The pastries themselves were particularly intricate in both flavour and presentation, arriving on a modern sculptural stand that immediately gave the experience a more contemporary feel. A meadowsweet and dark chocolate tart with buckwheat praline balanced richness with texture, while the orange blossom Tropézienne brought a softer citrus note to the selection. The piece I found myself enjoying most, however, was the rose and aloe vera macaron with raspberry and chardonnay marmalade — delicate, fresh and surprisingly light. Throughout the afternoon tea, there was a clear precision to the pâtisserie: elegant finishes, clean flavours and enough creativity to make each course feel distinctive without losing sight of balance.
What I found particularly interesting was how differently The Chancery Rosewood approached the idea of a Chelsea Flower Show afternoon tea. Rather than relying purely on obvious floral flavours, the menu took inspiration from fragrance and sensory detail in a more subtle and contemporary way, resulting in something that felt creative, well considered and quietly distinctive. The overall experience still respected the structure of a traditional afternoon tea, but interpreted it through a more modern lens that suited both the hotel and Jacqueline beautifully.
Charlotte, sadly, wasn’t able to join me for this particular afternoon tea, as dogs aren’t currently permitted within Jacqueline itself, despite the hotel being dog-friendly overall. At the end of the experience, however, the team quietly presented me with a soft toy to take home to her — a small but genuinely thoughtful gesture.
You can watch more from both afternoon tea experiences below.
Two Very Different Afternoons
Experiencing both afternoon teas within the same week made the contrast between them even more interesting.
At Brown’s, the appeal was in the familiarity of it all — the calmness of The Drawing Room, the polished but easy service, and the sense that everything had been thoughtfully refined over time rather than reinvented. It is the kind of afternoon tea that reminds you why certain London hotels remain classics for a reason.
The Chancery Rosewood offered something altogether more contemporary. From the presentation to the flavour combinations, the experience felt more design-led and immersive, while still keeping the structure of a traditional afternoon tea at its core.
Neither experience tried to do the same thing, which is exactly what made them so enjoyable to experience side by side. One leaned into timeless elegance; the other approached afternoon tea from a more modern and creative perspective. Both captured the spirit of Chelsea Flower Show week beautifully in their own way.
Practical Information
Brown’s Hotel | Albemarle Street, Mayfair, London W1S 4BP
Dog-friendly afternoon tea ✓ — Charlotte-approved
The Chancery Rosewood | 30 Grosvenor Square, London W1K 6AE
Hotel is dog-friendly ✓
Jacqueline tea lounge: dogs not currently permitted
- Both the Boodles Botanical Afternoon Tea at Brown’s Hotel and the ‘Out of This World’ Afternoon Tea at The Chancery Rosewood were limited-edition menus created for Chelsea Flower Show week and have now ended. Both experiences were gifted, however all views and photographs are entirely my own.
